Leviticus 27.30:
All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord.
Leviticus 27.31:
If persons wish to redeem any of their tithes, they must add one-fifth to them.
Leviticus 27.32:
All tithes of herd and flock, every tenth one that passes under the shepherd’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord.
Numbers 18.21:
To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for a possession in return for the service that they perform, the service in the tent of meeting.
Numbers 18.24:
because I have given to the Levites as their portion the tithe of the Israelites, which they set apart as an offering to the Lord. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no allotment among the Israelites.
Numbers 18.26:
You shall speak to the Levites, saying: When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them for your portion, you shall set apart an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
Numbers 18.28:
Thus you also shall set apart an offering to the Lord from all the tithes that you receive from the Israelites; and from them you shall give the Lord’s offering to the priest Aaron.
Deuteronomy 12.6:
bringing there your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations, your votive gifts, your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks.
Deuteronomy 12.11:
then you shall bring everything that I command you to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name: your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations, and all your choice votive gifts that you vow to the Lord.
Deuteronomy 12.17:
Nor may you eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, your wine, or your oil, the firstlings of your herds or your flocks, any of your votive gifts that you vow, your freewill-offerings, or your donations;
Deuteronomy 14.22:
Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field.
Deuteronomy 14.23:
In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
Deuteronomy 14.28:
Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns;
Deuteronomy 26.1:
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,
Deuteronomy 26.12:
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns,
2 Chronicles 31.5:
As soon as the word spread, the people of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
2 Chronicles 31.6:
The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the dedicated things that had been consecrated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps.
2 Chronicles 31.12:
Faithfully they brought in the contributions, the tithes and the dedicated things. The chief officer in charge of them was Conaniah the Levite, with his brother Shimei as second;
Nehemiah 10.37:
and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our soil, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns.
Nehemiah 10.38:
And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.
Nehemiah 12.44:
On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites from the fields belonging to the towns; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.
Nehemiah 13.5:
prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously put the grain-offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
Nehemiah 13.12:
Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses.
Amos 4.4:
Come to Bethel—and transgress;
to Gilgal—and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days;
Malachi 3.8:
Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings!
Malachi 3.10:
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.
Tobit 1.6:
But I alone went often to Jerusalem for the festivals, as it is prescribed for all Israel by an everlasting decree. I would hurry off to Jerusalem with the first fruits of the crops and the firstlings of the flock, the tithes of the cattle, and the first shearings of the sheep.
Judith 11.13:
They have decided to consume the first fruits of the grain and the tithes of the wine and oil, which they had consecrated and set aside for the priests who minister in the presence of our God in Jerusalem—things it is not lawful for any of the people even to touch with their hands.
Ecclesiasticus 35.11:
With every gift show a cheerful face,
and dedicate your tithe with gladness.
1 Maccabees 3.49:
They also brought the vestments of the priesthood and the first fruits and the tithes, and they stirred up the nazirites who had completed their days;
1 Maccabees 10.31:
Jerusalem and its environs, its tithes and its revenues, shall be holy and free from tax.
1 Maccabees 11.35:
And the other payments henceforth due to us of the tithes, and the taxes due to us, and the salt pits and the crown taxes due to us—from all these we shall grant them release.
Matthew 23.23:
‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
Luke 11.42:
‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.
Hebrews 7.5:
And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham.
Hebrews 7.6:
But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.
Hebrews 7.8:
In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
Hebrews 7.9:
One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,
1 Corinthians 9.2-12
2If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4Do we not have the right to our food and drink? 5Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife,* as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk?
8 Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same? 9For it is written in the law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.’ Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop. 11If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? 12If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more?
Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
Malachi 3.8:
Will anyone rob God?
Yet you are robbing me!
But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’
In your tithes and offerings!
How was the Tent of Meeting built?
Was it not by the contributions of the people?
How was The Temple built?
Was it not also through the money given to God by the people?
How are churches to exist without the support of the members?
Is not the worker worth his wage?
Paul clearly shows us that the pastor is to be paid for his work, so why argue?
If we neglect the church who will be there to help/feed/clothe the poor?
The government? The number of homeless should show it has failed.
If not the church then will you?
Will you serve the needs of the poor today?
The sick? Those in prison? Those dying?
If you are not serving, who will?
Is that not the calling of the church?
Are these not the services of the pastor?
If the worker is worth his wage, why begrudge the pastor?
2 Corinthians 9.7: Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
This is not to be viewed as a license for anyone to refrain from giving, we are all called to give.
We are called to give without reservation and without dispute.
So why is there so much dispute over giving?
Is it because some value money more than God?
The rich man in Matthew 19:16-22, how would his life have been changed if only he had given?
How much do we give?
How much did Yeshua give?
Can we out give Him?
1 Corinthians 16:1-4,
16Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. 2On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. 3And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. 4If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
Now this collection was for whom?
Was this not to care for the poor? The orphans? The widows?
Yes all these and more, the church leaders were also supported through these weekly collections.
All Scripture is quoted from the NRSV.
